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Norwood: What do you love? Not Love?
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Anonymous
| We chose Norwood over other schools because of the fact it acknowledges God, albeit in a limited way. This is truly unique among schools of its type. It quickly became clear, however, that this will not remain the case. |
Anonymous
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I guess some group "won". I am not sure why people just can't "tolerate" Christianity.
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Anonymous
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Many of these comments expressing frustration with the Norwood Board's decision make absolutely no sense. To the extent people want to send their kids to an Episcopal school, then Beauvoir, WES, St. Patricks and SSSA are available and provide that. Norwood is not an Episcopal school, and hasn't been for over thirty years. To the extent the school had maintained some traditions based on its Episcopal roots which may have led to confusion, that has now been addressed and clarified. This is not about "tolerating Christianity," it is about embracing all religions and spirituality, without sending the message to children that one religion is sponsored. Norwood is not responsible for our children's religious upbringing.
To families on the outside who are considering Norwood, you should know that within the school, this is really not a divisive topic. To be sure, there is a very small minority of unhappy families, but the community as a whole is very happy about this decision; the message from the Board and the Head of School were fantastically delivered and met with great enthusiasm. |
Anonymous
It makes no sense to you. For some, not all, the news is disheartening. If you are a returning family, I am sure you were given ample opportunity to debate the issue. If you are new, it may come as a surprise. As someone else noted, Chapel is one of the reasons why we selected Norwood and the possibility of this change should have been communicated during the admission process. Religion is not taught at Norwood, there is no religion class like there are at some of the schools you mentioned. However the Lord's Prayer is recited and we knew that when we applied to the school. Perhaps you are the one who should have considered another school if you were uncomfortable with it. |
Anonymous
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12:11, I agree with you. It seems like Christians are on the retreat. Having to apologize for a Christian culture makes no sense. Most of the families that complained were non Christians, and to them I say WHAT did you have to fear?
Well, since we want to get all religion out...what will be the next project? It might not have occurred to some families that maybe the school was nice BECAUSE it WAS Episcopal. Maybe Episcopalians do schools better than ____ religion. Maybe, as the Episcopal traditions are diluted, the school will go down the tubes. |
Anonymous
Chapel is continuing. The value of the month is continuing. The School's mission that includes attending to the spiritual and ethical development of children is continuing. What is not continuing is recitation of The Lord's Prayer in chapel. Do you seriously find that to be so disheartening? It is quite odd that the recitation of a prayer, by itself, would be so significant to you, and yet you chose to send your child to a non-religious school. As a new parent, I hope in time you will see that these other aspects of the School are what help to make it a special place. |
Anonymous
You area really just trying to stop the discussion which is what many people find disheartening, i.e. the lack of communication and then a decree. To families on the outside considering Norwood, do not listen to pp. This issue is exactly as divisive as it seems. A very small group advocated for something and disregarded the feelings of many. Even if one agrees with the outcome the way it was handled was insensitive. Poorly done. |
Anonymous
| Who is the "very small group"? Everyone I have spoken with is happy with the announcement. All religions will be recognized equally, I think that celebrates the true spirit of the school. |
Anonymous
Since you have not spoken to me then it stands to reason that "everyone" is not happy with the announcement. So I have to ask, if YOU were that unhappy with the inclusion of the Lord's Prayer than why did you bother applying to the school? Omitting the Lord's name from Chapel doesn't sit well with me but since I am a new parent, I will assume not enough people were vocal about it. The decision has been announced and Chapel will remain unchanged until 2011, but please don't kid yourself into believing everyone is happy about it. |
Anonymous
| A very large group of parents were very vocal about it. I have spoken to many parents who are unhappy about it. 16:12 is incorrect. Perhaps the his/her enthusiasm for this outcome prohibits people from expressing how they feel unless it is in total support of her opinion. Lots of hushed "I can't believe they did this" is going on. |
Anonymous
| I am delighted with the board's decision and believe that this is an important step forward for the school. I understand that others disagree, in some cases very strongly. Nonetheless, I find it unlikely that this division will have a major impact on the community. For most families, the role of religion seems to play at best a secondary role in their thinking about the school. |
Anonymous
| Watch out WES, NCS, and STA, you're next! |
Anonymous
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I would encourage anyone that is interested to read the actual letter from the head of school and the board chair which is posted on their website.
http://www.norwoodschool.org/parents/detail.aspx?pageaction=ViewSinglePublic&LinkID=7139&ModuleID=29&&NEWSPID=1 I don't read this as religion is gone from Norwood. CHapel is continuing. They talk about the school's committment to spirituality and character education. It didn't make sense for them to be saying the Lord's Prayer and not being an Episcopal school. As a long time parent, I am thrilled. |
Anonymous
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I fully agree with 11:44 and 17:07. The decision by the Board is right. Norwood is NOT a religious school, and the Lord's Prayer should not be recited on a daily basis. And I don't believe eliminating this tradition will affect the school negatively.
This said, this does not mean that we should not celebrate religions. We would have no problems with the school putting on pageants to celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukah, Deepavali or Wesak Day (for Buddhists). It is good for the kids to be exposed to various international faiths. We live in a global interconnected world. |
Anonymous
| Read the letter. There is a problem with a pageant to celebrate Christmas. |